Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates generally to methods for providing shopping information for a plurality of contacts of a social network of a user to a computing device corresponding to the user. In particular, examples of the present invention are related to techniques for providing shopping information to a computing device of a user that relates to one or more items offered for sale by a retailer indicative of a shopping action performed by one or more contacts of a social network of the user.
Background
Modern technology offers today's consumers a wide range of tools for interacting in the marketplace. Using computing devices, e.g., smart phones, tablets and stationary computing devices, consumers have access to a wide range of information and a broad array of shopping tools for purchasing anything from electronic devices to simple groceries from retailers. The consumer may select various items for purchase from the retailer using the computing device.
It is known, for many consumers to be members of social networks, e.g., Pinterest® and Twitter®, that allow the consumers to connect with contacts, e.g., “Friends”, and share various types of information. The user is required to log on to a server maintained by the social network to view information published by the contacts and to interact therewith. One drawback is that a consumer who prefers to electronically shop at a specific retailer, e.g., through a mobile application or website furnished by the retailer, has no indication of what items offered for sale by the retailer their contacts of the social network are interested in or may have purchased. In this scenario, the consumer would have to log into the social network and cypher through various publications, e.g., “posts”, shared by their contacts to learn what items are of interest or have been purchased. In addition, the contacts of the social network may not go out of their way to explicitly share, via the social network, the items they are interested in or have purchased.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.